


Denial

by CanineKitten



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Drunk Sex, M/M, Rivals to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 17:48:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16045484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineKitten/pseuds/CanineKitten
Summary: "One-night stands were not Naruto's thing, so he couldn't help but get curious about whom this person was. Maybe she was remarkably beautiful? He gently nudged the sheet aside so that he could see her face. He froze. His heart dropped to his stomach.No.No, it couldn't be.No...Next to him on the bed slept none other than his childhood friend and rival, Uchiha Sasuke."





	Denial

**Author's Note:**

> This is a canon AU where Sasuke never left. They're in their twenties.

A soft breeze was playing with his hair. The smell of the ocean and the sound of gulls drifted in from outside. Naruto blinked and groaned at the bright sunlight that slanted in through the billowing curtains. The room was bathed in a soft, golden glow from the midday sun. He groaned again. Had he really slept until midday?

The bed felt warm and safe, and the throbbing ache that pulsed in the back of his scull made him wish he could just sleep on.

What happened yesterday, anyway? He had never seen this room before. It looked like a motel room. He tried to remember... He'd just finished a mission... They'd stopped in a nearby fishing village to rest. They'd started drinking to celebrate. It had been a tolling and lengthy mission. They had all been relieved now that it was over. But then... Naruto couldn't remember anything else. His brain felt fuzzy, like it was stuffed full of cotton.

He sat up. His throat felt parched.

It was at that moment that he realized that something else was off. Shit... He was not alone in the bed. He had been too groggy to realize sooner, and his bed partner slept very quietly.

Damn…

He should probably just sneak out as quickly as possible, but he let curiosity get the better of him. He never slept with random people, no matter how drunk he was. One-night stands were not his thing, so he couldn't help but get curious about whom this person was. Maybe she was remarkably beautiful?

He gently nudged the sheet aside so that he could see her face.

He froze. His heart dropped to his stomach.

No.

No, it couldn't be.

No...

Next to him on the bed slept none other than his childhood friend and rival, Uchiha Sasuke.

Thankfully, he had not woken up yet. If Naruto could just manage to sneak out without waking him up, then he could pretend this never happened. If Sasuke remembered as little as he did, then they would be good.

He tiptoed across the floor and picked up the haphazardly strewn clothes. To his mortification, he started to remember things.

He remembered the desperation with which he'd undressed himself, flinging his clothes to the side and getting annoyed when Sasuke was too slow in getting undressed.

He remembered... oh god... He wished he could just be struck down by lightning right then and there. How could he have been so... so desperate to get Sasuke - Sasuke! - into bed? He was not attracted to Sasuke! Not at all! Why would he be attracted to him? He was a man! An annoying, stuck-up, snooty man at that!

The only reasonable explanation was that he'd been drugged. Wasn't there something called a date-rape drug? But didn't that leave the victim immobile? Nevertheless, something had not been quite right yesterday. That was all he could conclude with. The best would be to forget about it.

He managed to sneak out of the room without waking Sasuke, to his great relief. Now he was naked and standing in the middle of a hallway. Thankfully it was deserted. He couldn't chance getting dressed in the room. Sasuke was a light sleeper so it was lucky he even managed to sneak out without waking him.

He hurried to get dressed before someone discovered him, and went down to the reception area. The rest of the team was already waiting.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Tenten said with a teasing smile.

"Naruto!" Sakura chided the second she saw him. "We were supposed to meet here one hour ago!"

"I'm sorry!" Naruto put his hands up. "I was so drunk yesterday, you have no idea! I didn't remember anything when I woke up!"

Tenten ruffled his hair.

"Looks like you got up to no good." She winked.

Naruto got beet red.

"Wow, I think you're right!" Lee enthusiastically joined the conversation at the worst moment. "He's got a glow of youthfulness that only precedes a satisfying embrace of love!"

"Knock it off," Naruto squeaked.

Sakura was studying him with a strange look on her face.

"That's unlikely," she said.

To Naruto it felt like her words stabbed him in the heart.

Then she continued saying, "Who would that be? There's basically no one else in this village but us an a bunch of middle aged couples."

"I saw a young woman at the bar!" Lee pointed out.

"She left long before us," Neji said. Tenten gave him a lifted eyebrow. He shrugged.

"Okay, okay, can we please stop this interrogation and leave already?" Naruto said.

"Sasuke still haven't shown up," Sakura said. "It's strange. He's never late."

"Maybe he just can't hold his liquor?" Naruto said. "He's probably so hangover he can't walk."

"If I knew what room he took in at I could go looking for him," Sakura said. "But no one on his name booked in, according to the receptionist."

"So, he was too drunk to even remember his own name?"

"Or," Tenten said. "He was with someone else."

She seemed to immensely enjoy the ensuing drama.

Now it was Sakura's turn to become beet red.

"He would never do that," she said with conviction. "He's an honorable person. He wouldn't just... sleep with anyone!"

Naruto suddenly felt a bit sick. If only she knew...

Just as the tension was getting high in the group, Sasuke showed up as casually as though he was just on time.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed with evident relief. Naruto glared at him. Why did Sakura always yell at Naruto but never at him? Sasuke looked as put together as always. His hair was immaculate. He probably had taken the time to shower, unlike Naruto.

He stopped next to Naruto.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I overslept."

"Rough night?" Tenten asked with a wink.

Sasuke didn't dignify her with an answer.

"There's no point in dawdling," Neji, who was the team leader, said. "We won't get far before it gets dark, but I think we can make it to the Town of Crickets in the Red Forest before dusk."

 

\-----

 

Naruto woke up with a whimper. He was drenched through with sweat. He was also rock hard. He rolled to the side to hide his erection from Sasuke and Sai, whom he was sharing the tent with. Sasuke was lying right next to him. He could feel his arm against his back and it was distracting.

He tried to get rid of his erection by thinking of something that really turned him off. Thinking of Sasuke lying right next to him should have done the trick but... it just didn't. Instead it made his situation worse. He tried to shut down the very vivid memory from the dream that had awakened him, but with Sasuke next to him it was impossible. The dream had been about Sasuke. Most probably it was a memory because it had felt as real as though it was actually happening.

Sasuke had been sprawled out on the bed beneath him. He'd looked so fucking beautiful with his tousled hair spread out over the white pillow and his pink mouth slightly open. Naruto would normally never think of Sasuke's mouth as pink, but in the dream he had. In the dream he hadn't been able to get enough of him. In the dream he had ran his hands greedily over his body, and Sasuke had grabbed one of his hands and brought it up to his mouth. He had kissed his palm in a gesture that was so surprisingly gentle that Naruto felt his eyes fill with tears even now.

Naruto sat up and rubbed his eyes. He needed to get out of that tent. It was impossible to sleep in such a cramped space.

 

\-----

 

Sasuke heard Naruto leave the tent. He remained lying perfectly still on his back, his eyes closed. He wished he could attempt to sleep without remembering how Naruto looked at him yesterday every time he closed his eyes. He had never in his wildest dreams thought he'd live to see the day when Naruto's eyes were focused on him with such desire. Desire for him. Sasuke remembered it all too clearly. They had snuck away from the others, had rented a room under a fake name (they'd thought it was hilarious at the moment) and then they proceeded to get undressed as fast as humanly possible. Naruto had gotten impatient and had tugged at Sasuke's clothes when he fumbled with his belt.

Then it had all turned into a frenzied bliss as they touched and rubbed and rutted. Sasuke turned over onto his side. He was annoyed with himself for remembering it so clearly. He wished he could forget it, especially after seeing Naruto's reaction to it the next day. Sasuke had woken up before Naruto left that morning, but he had said nothing and just pretended he slept. He hadn't known what to say. When it became obvious that Naruto was planning to sneak away, he had been surprised by how much it hurt him. When Naruto pretended like nothing the rest of that day, Sasuke had to pretend like nothing too. He tried to convince himself that he didn't care, but he couldn't deny the way it hurt.

The worst part was that Naruto could probably easily find someone else who was more suitable for his tastes (like that big-breasted girl... whatshername...) while Sasuke... couldn't. Yesterday had felt like a dream come true, but now he had to face the truth; that it had been just a dream.

 

\-----

 

Naruto couldn’t stop staring at Sasuke. He tried to stop, he really did, but somehow his eyes always made their way back to him seemingly on their own volition. Once, Sasuke caught him doing it and they both looked away quickly.

“Alright, I need focus,” Neji said with a pointed look towards Naruto. “There’s a ninja camp not far away from the road here. They might be looking for us, so we should double back and go around them.”

The whole group followed him back along the way they’d come, and then they got up into the trees and took the canopy route past the ninja camp. It turned out that it was more than one. Apparently, they’d been waiting for them.

“Someone isn’t too happy we got hold of those scrolls,” Tenten whispered.

They were sitting high up in the trees, waiting for Neji and Lee to find a route that could take them safely past the countless camps.

“Once we’ve passed Fire Country borders, we should be okay,” Sakura said.

Naruto was watching Sasuke, who sat perched on a branch nearby together with Sai, distractedly wondering how Sasuke could look so damned _good_ all the time. It wasn’t fair, he thought, and conveniently ignored the fact that he wasn’t actually envious, rather, this emotion felt more like… He shook his head.

Neji and Lee returned, and led them safely through the enemy territory. They slept little that night. Constantly on guard and eager to return home they camped late and left early. They weren’t more than a two days journey from Konoha now, and soon they would be within Fire Country borders. Naruto was looking forward to it. He wanted to sleep at an inn tonight, preferably one that didn’t stink like fish.

Everyone agreed whole-heartedly with him, especially when buckets of ice-cold rain started pouring down on their heads with a vengeance. The first inn they reached had a hot spring, and no one objected to that. Soon Naruto, Sai, Neji, Lee and Sasuke were soaking in a pool of steaming hot water, and Naruto thought he had never been happier. Neji and Lee left when it started getting late, and Neji reminded them that they were getting an early start tomorrow.

Naruto wished he could keep soaking in that heavenly water for a while longer, but he knew he needed to go to bed. He was sharing a room with Sai and Sasuke, as usual, and it wasn’t exactly encouraging him to get out of the water. He waited till Sasuke finally moved, and watched him as inconspicuous as possible under half-lowered lashes. He had made sure he got into the pool opposite of Sasuke and the showers where they’d washed off before they went into the pool exactly for this reason. He needed to keep an eye on Sasuke, he told himself. He didn’t reflect on the reason why he felt the need to do that.

He certainly wasn’t doing it in order to get a chance to ogle Sasuke’s ass. Definitely not.

“You really seem to like Sasuke’s ass,” Sai commented when Sasuke had left.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his own skin. He’d nearly forgotten Sai was still there.

“I’m not!” He yelled.

He forgot himself and stood, and had to slap his hands over his half-hard cock. Sai did not let that small detail slip his notice.

“I can see that,” he said and gave Naruto a placid smile. Then he got out of the pool and left Naruto alone in the middle of the pool, his skin red and burning for more reasons than the hot water.

 

\----

 

Sai had somehow managed to place himself so that Sasuke and Naruto had to lie next to each other. Again. Naruto was still flaming red as he slid under the sheet and turned his back to Sasuke without giving him a second glance. Sasuke had placed himself closer to Naruto than to Sai. If he had to choose between two of his least favorite people, apparently he’d still choose Naruto. There was something touching about that, in an insulting way. Naruto listened to Sasuke’s breathing for a long time until he decided that he must be asleep. Only then did he turn around so he was facing him.

Sasuke was lying closer than Naruto had anticipated. His cheek was resting on the very edge of the futon. Naruto remained close to him. He watched his face intently for a long time, wondering what it was that constantly made him so drawn to him. He was good looking, sure. But he was a guy so it wasn’t like Naruto was _attracted_ to him.

Naruto felt his heart sink as the thought really pierced through to him. Fuck. He _was_ attracted to him! He turned back around and moved to the opposite edge of the futon, as far away from Sasuke as he could come. That night he didn’t sleep a wink.

 

\----

 

Naruto was so glad the mission was over that he left the others with a quick goodbye as soon as the debriefing was over, and hurried home. Once inside, he undressed in a daze and took a long, warm shower. Some part of him hoped in vain that the hot water would steam any indecent thoughts about Sasuke out of him.

‘You’re so stupid,’ he chided himself. ‘The reason you get into these stupid situations with Sasuke is because you have a boner for him. How could you not get that?’

As he dried off, he admitted the truth to himself. He was scared. He was freaking scared and he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to lose Sasuke, not under any circumstances. They might claim they were rivals, but in truth Naruto viewed Sasuke as a very close friend. Perhaps the closest friend he had.

One should think it was possible to speak plainly with such a friend, but that wasn’t how they worked. They sniped at each other and insulted each other and fought each other, and Naruto was fine with that, it was how it was supposed to be. That’s why these _other_ feelings were so confusing and difficult. They ruined everything he’d taken for granted between him and Sasuke. It made them something else, something he didn’t know what was yet.

He allowed himself to think of that night when he… when he slept with Sasuke. He remembered very little, he wasn’t even sure if they really slept together, but he remembered kissing Sasuke and running his hands over his naked skin. How it had filled his body with an unquenchable fire. He’d been insatiable, unable to get enough of it. Of Sasuke’s mouth, of his skin, his hair that had felt like silk between Naruto’s fingers… He shook his head. Was he just making up things? The memories were so foggy, but what he remembered was good.

He let the towel drop and looked at himself in the mirror. Then he looked away. He wasn’t seriously considering this…? He passed his hands over his abdomen, down his thighs. Jerking off while thinking of Sasuke… Could it be considered a breach of loyalty? He remembered how Sasuke had acted that night too. He had wanted it just as much as Naruto had. It had seemed that way, at least… He was drunk, though, but weren’t people more honest when drunk? He had kissed Naruto just as hungrily as Naruto had kissed him. His hands had been fumbling with Naruto’s clothes.

Naruto’s hands moved to his cock without his explicit consent. In the moment, it felt right. He focused on what he remembered of Sasuke’s lips moving against his, of his body beneath him, naked and willing. His hand moved swiftly over his cock. He thought of spreading Sasuke’s legs and pushing inside of him. He wondered how it’d feel. Tight. Hot. Sasuke would writhe underneath him, undulate against him. He would encourage Naruto to fuck him deeper, harder. He could practically hear the deep timbre of his voice as he urged him on…

“Naruto?”

Naruto gasped. That voice had been a little too real, a little too close.

“Naruto?”

There it was again, right outside the door to his bathroom! What was Sasuke doing here right now of all times?!

He fought to catch his breath.

“Just a second,” he called, a little louder than necessary. “I’m in the shower.”

He regretted saying it when he realized that the water wasn’t running and that Sasuke must have noticed that.

“Tsunade had something for you,” Sasuke said from the other side of the door. “You left before she could give it to you so I had to run after you like some errands boy.”

“Thanks,” Naruto said. “Just leave it in the kitchen.”

He listened intently but couldn’t quite tell if Sasuke had left or not. In any case, his hard-on was sufficiently reduced after that scare, so he got dressed and opened the door. The hallway was empty. On the kitchen table laid a scroll. He went over and picked it up. It was still warm from having been in Sasuke’s hand.

“Idiot.”

Naruto spun around. Sasuke stood in the living room, just in Naruto’s blind spot. He clutched his chest.

“Don’t scare me like that! I thought you left.”

“Why are you so jumpy lately?” Sasuke said. “The others went out for lunch but you left so quickly, no one got the time to invite you.”

“I’m not jumpy!”

“You are.”

“Anyway, I don’t feel like eating right now.”

Sasuke looked incredulous. “They went to Ichiraku’s.”

“What’s the big deal with you, anyway?” Naruto snapped. “Why do you want me to go there so badly?”

Sasuke shrugged. “I don’t. I just thought…” He cut off. “Never mind. I actually don’t care.”

He turned around and left, slamming the door behind him. Naruto just watched him go, his jaw tight. He clutched the scroll. It was a sealing scroll. Tsunade had been lending him some of her scrolls and notes because she’d noticed that he’d taken a fancy to his clans old, forgotten arts.

Naruto smiled bleakly. “Thanks, baa-chan,” he muttered.

 

\----

 

He tried to focus on the scroll. He really did. It was extremely interesting. It was just that he couldn’t stop wondering why Sasuke had acted so strangely. Why had it seemed like there was something he’d wanted to say? Naruto found he couldn’t stand not knowing, so he left his apartment and made his way across town to where Sasuke lived.

He knocked but no one answered. Naruto would be very surprised if Sasuke had joined the others for lunch, so he persisted, knowing Sasuke had to be at home. He was therefore very startled when Sasuke suddenly spoke right behind him.

“Changed you mind?”

Naruto spun around. “Where have you been?”

Sasuke sighed. “I stopped at the grocery shop. Do I have to ask your permission for that?”

He bumped Naruto’s shoulder as he walked past him. He turned the key in the lock and opened the door with his shoulder. Naruto invited himself inside.

“You’re not getting any food from me,” Sasuke warned.

He took of his shoes in the hallway and put on slippers. Naruto followed his example, although he’d never have bothered with that at home. He knew Sasuke would get angry if he didn’t.

“I don’t want your lame food,” Naruto griped.

He stopped in the doorway to the kitchen. Sasuke was putting the groceries into the fridge, and Naruto couldn’t take his eyes away from his ass. He wondered how it was possible to have an ass that was so out of this world divine, and then he wondered how it was possible to be as fucking stupid as he was and not realize how pathetically on his knees he was for Sasuke.

Suddenly he wasn’t sure what to say to Sasuke. Then he remembered why he’d come there in the first place.

“Hey… Sas’ke… When you were at my place, there was something you were about to say…?”

“Really?” Sasuke didn’t even turn around. “I don’t remember.”

“It was something. It seemed important.”

“I can’t imagine.”

Naruto moved closer to Sasuke. “It almost seemed like you came to my place because you wanted to tell me something. I know you. You don’t run errands for people without a reason.”

Sasuke stood like frozen. Naruto watched the strong expanse of his shoulders, the muscles in his neck moving as he swallowed.

“But then you chickened out,” Naruto said. “That _is_ unlike you.”

Sasuke turned around and suddenly they were face-to-face and very close to each other. Neither of them backed away.

“You can’t think of anything that I might want to say to you?” Sasuke said. “Nothing that has happened lately that we possibly should talk about?”

Naruto was starting to get a bad feeling. He really wanted to take a step backwards, but he couldn’t show Sasuke that kind of weakness.

He shrugged.

Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his chest, and Naruto glanced briefly down at his bulging biceps under the thin, white shirt. He swallowed to moisten his suddenly very dry throat. Was it just his imagination, or was Sasuke purposefully looking sexier than ever?

“We don’t usually talk,” Naruto said.

“You’re right about that.”

Naruto let his gaze drop purposefully down to what he could see of Sasuke’s chest under the small split in the neckline of his shirt. He slowly looked up to meet Sasuke’s gaze again.

“Maybe it’s best that way.”

Sasuke’s pupils looked wider than before, his eyelids drooped a little, giving him a sexy, languid look. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. Naruto leant closer… or was it Sasuke who leant closer to him? Either way, in the span of half a breath they were in each other faces, mouths seeking each other hungrily.

Naruto had only a vague memory of how it was like to kiss Sasuke. It was nothing in comparison to the real thing.

For a couple of fragile moments they tried to take in the momentous experience. Their breaths mingled and they hesitated, taking in the feeling and the taste of someone that had seemed so unobtainable for so long. And then the fragile thread of that glorious moment shattered like broken glass, and they were devouring each other.

They kissed with zero finesse and only determined desire to drive them. It was painful. It was perfect. They tumbled down on the floor and then Naruto was practically tearing Sasuke’s pants off. Once they were down on his thighs along with his boxers, Naruto shoved his hand in between Sasuke’s legs. Sasuke gasped. Naruto’s fingers grazed over his cock, caressing it briefly before it continued on to their final destination. They both realized they were missing an important component at the same moment. Their eyes met.

Lube.

Naruto looked around, desperate for something that could substitute.

“Bedroom,” Sasuke gasped. “Nightstand.”

Naruto darted off and was back in record time, lube and condom in hand. He didn’t ask why Sasuke kept such things. He could imagine.

He tried to tear Sasuke’s clothes off further while simultaneously squeezing lube onto his hand. Sasuke was busy pulling down Naruto’s pants and touching his cock. Naruto groaned.

“Condom,” Sasuke ordered. Naruto handed it to him and Sasuke quickly rolled it onto him.

Naruto leant forward. His hand slipped on Sasuke’s thigh and smeared it with lube, but neither cared. Sasuke grunted as Naruto somehow managed to maneuver himself between his legs, which were still caught in his pants, and shoved inside of him, the lube making a squelching sound. Sasuke was really tense. Naruto wished he could relax. A groan escaped Sasuke. Naruto latched onto that one sign of pleasure and pushed some more. Sasuke clutched Naruto’s biceps tight.

“You okay?” Naruto bit out.

Sasuke nodded. He grimaced as Naruto shoved deeper in. Naruto hoped it was in pleasure. He, at least, was going out of his mind with the overload of feelings; Sasuke panting against his ear, his body tight as a vice around Naruto’s cock, his breaths shallow and sharp, like they were punched out of him. He groaned again as Naruto started moving. Naruto’s cock slid into him a little deeper with each thrust. Naruto was sure he finally knew what laid in the expression mind-blowing. It felt like his mind was getting shattered to pieces. He couldn’t keep one single thought together. His whole body was on fire, every place Sasuke touched felt like a new and secret place. He knew he was gonna come too soon. He could feel it build up and he had no power to stop it.

He clutched Sasuke, panted against his ear, felt his chest shiver as he buried himself deep inside of him, as deep as he could go, and then he came. He froze. A shaky breath left him. Sasuke groaned. Naruto kissed his neck. Kissed his lips. Cradled his head and couldn’t stop kissing him. He was still inside him.

He moved and it felt so good. Sasuke moved his legs and his sphincter convulsed around Naruto’s dick.

“Oh, God,” Naruto gasped.

He needed to pull out, the sensitivity was bordering on painful. He did it as gently as he could, but Sasuke still flinched.

He collapsed next to Sasuke and they lay there panting for a long moment.

“Did you know?” Naruto asked at long last.

“What?”

“That we… that we wanted this?”

Sasuke gave Naruto an incredulous look. “I knew what _I_ wanted. I had no idea about you.”

“So you… You wanted _me_?”

Sasuke huffed. He pulled his pants up as he got to his feet. Naruto fumbled with his own pants.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” he said.

He got up and followed Sasuke to the bathroom. Instead of going inside, Sasuke stopped in the doorway.

“I thought you didn’t want to talk.”

“I just need to… I just need to know that this is real… that it doesn’t just keep happening out of the blue, and then we pretend it didn’t…”

Sasuke’s expression softened a bit. “You’ve always been an idiot,” he said in a tone that was almost gentle.

Naruto scratched the side of his head. “I know,” he muttered.

They looked at each other. Naruto was thankful that Sasuke met his gaze steadily, without any shame. His eyes seemed softer than Naruto usually saw them. Less guarded. Something felt different now. They’d shared something that made them both vulnerable to the other, but it didn’t bother Naruto. He reached out and touched Sasuke’s cheek. He supposed he was allowed to do that now. Sasuke closed his eyes. Naruto cupped his face in his hands and kissed him again, softly this time, just to know how it felt to do it gently. He held the kiss until Sasuke’s lips parted, and then Sasuke’s lips slid over his, molding to his in a warm, soft embrace. Naruto pulled him close to himself. He broke the kiss to press his cheek to Sasuke’s. He felt so happy that he could do this with such ease, that it was okay to do it. Sasuke put his arms around Naruto too, and rested his head on Naruto’s shoulder.

They didn’t need to say anything else. They just knew.

 


End file.
